


Mr. Coach

by BSloves1D



Series: Mr. Coach [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Art Teacher Zayn, Coach Louis, Depressed Zayn, Harry has a secret, Jealous Zayn, Memory Alteration, Multi, Niall Horan - Freeform, Secrets, Some angst, Student Liam, Teacher Harry Styles, Teacher-Student Relationship, Teacher-Teacher relationship, Zayn Malik & Louis Tomlinson Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 21:31:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 23,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15128231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BSloves1D/pseuds/BSloves1D
Summary: Coach Louis Tomlinson is the head Soccer coach at South Bay High School. Mr. Harry Styles is a new math teacher. What will Louis do when he realizes he's falling for Harry? What will Harry do when he realizes his best-kept secret will eventually come out?





	1. Chapter 1

"Only ten more, I know you can do it," I shout. I stand next to one of my weaker players as they attempt to finish their round of push-ups. 

"Yes Coach," he barks back. I cross my arms and look across the field. I watch as my star player, Liam Payne, leads the offenders into another drill. I sigh contently as my gaze fixates back on the athlete below me. 

"Finish up," I yell. I watch as the groups finish off with one last kick and starts back towards me. They look so happy and sweaty; all signs of a practice well done. 

"You guys had a great practice today. Be on the field at 4:45 tomorrow; if one person is late the whole team does suicides!" The boys groan and roll their eyes. As much as they complain about running you would think they would get their shit in order, but alas everyday someone shows up late to practice.  

I dismiss the students back to the locker rooms to change out and head home when I hear someone call me. "Coach Tomlinson," The voice shouts. I turn and see a guy standing at the edge of the field. He wears a plain button down shirt and a pair of tan pants. His hair is pulled up into a bun on the top of his head and a pair of black glasses sit perched on his nose. 

I try to contain my distaste towards my fellow staff members. The majority of them act like high schoolers themselves with their cliques and gossip. It's mostly trivial and bothersome, which is why I have the reputation as a loner amongst the other teachers. 

I watch as he glances down at the ground, probably noticing the mud. I sigh softly and walk closer towards him. When I'm close enough to properly talk I question him, "You are?" 

"Harry Styles, I'm the geometry lead. I was wondering if you had a Liam Payne out here. He was supposed to come to tutoring today after school and skipped. I know he's some super big athlete which is why I came down here," The teacher explains. My face softens as his voice washes over me. 

"Yeah, Payne's here," I tell him. I turn towards the field, trying to make out the student among everyone. I spot him carrying a bag of balls towards the locker room. "Payne!" The boy turns and jogs over to me. I watch as his face drops when he's close enough to make out the teacher in front of me. 

"Yes...," He hums. I could tell he's nervous and that he knows he fucked up. 

"Why did you skip tutoring?" I turn to him and cross my arms over my chest. It makes me look slightly more intimidating considering I can't quite look him in the eye. I'm the shortest coach, but that just means I make up for my height with more aggression. 

"I didn't want to miss practice. We have a game Tuesday and I didn't want to sit out," He explains. I figured it had something to do with the game. He always stresses over the games. He needs to learn to let go and relax. I turn back to Mr. Styles. 

"I'm sorry for his lack of effort in your class. He'll be benched from the game on Tuesday if he doesn't come to practice tomorrow with a note signed by you saying he stayed for tutoring." Payne promises me he'll try better before running off to the locker room. I give one last awkward smile to Harry before he turns and heads back inside.

"Like what you see?" I jump as the person' voice shouts out of nowhere. I go to yell at whoever surprised me when I turn around and see Mr. Malik, the art teacher. He's wearing his usual sweater and slacks and his hair is styled up into a quiff. He's leaning against the bleachers, smirking at me. 

"Shut up, Zayn. Sure he's kinda hot, but that doesn't mean I want to date him," I state. Zayn finds it his business to tease me about any guy I look at for more than a few seconds because I've been single for so long. 

"You don't have to date him to tap him," Zayn points out. I flip him off. He shrugs, "I'm gonna head home, see you there?"

"I need to do something, so yeah, go without me." Zayn gives me a thumbs up and starts towards our cars. We lived together in a house a few miles away from school. Our friendship is a surprising one to most people considering I'm a coach and he's a art teacher, but we never see it like that. We've been friends since middle school, so he's always been just Zayn to me. 

I head into the building, going towards the math hallway. I knew Harry has to be somewhere in there. I walk for a ways before stopping at a door with a 'Styles' wood cut out hanging off of it. I bring my hand up to the door and knock. 

"It's open," He says. I open the door and step inside. I glance over the room quickly. He has a few math problems on the board and a table for his laptop and projector off to the side. His classroom is filled with neatly placed tables of two. My eyes dance towards the back of the room where I find Mr. Styles sitting at his desk grading papers.

"To what do I owe this visit?" I bite my lip as I think of what I'm going to say. He looks up and raises an eyebrow. I manage to find my words after a moment or two. 

"I just wanted to thank you for coming down to practice. You really didn't need to do that," I explain. He nods, giving me an awkward smile. We stare at each other, neither of us really knowing what to say. 

"It was no problem, really. Look, if that's all I have a lot of papers to grade...," Harry suggests. 

"Wait! Before I go, how did you know my name? I don't remember telling you my name, but you... knew it," He looks down and takes over his glasses. 

"Well, considering you're one of the first gay coaches to not get fired you're highly known among the lgbt community," Mr. Styles' explains. Lgbt? Is Harry...gay? 

"Are you... gay?" I blurt. My eyes widen as I realize what I said. He sighs loudly, obviously feeling slightly uncomfortable by my invasive question. 

"I thought I made that kind of obvious, but I... guess not. Yes, I'm... gay," He says. I can tell he wants me to leave, but I can't. My feet are almost glued to the ground, not allowing myself to leave the room. 

"So, uh... are you new here? To the campus that is, I mean... I've never really seen you around before." 

"Look, I wasn't joking when I said I have a lot of papers to grade. If you want to chat maybe we can talk outside of school, but right now is not the--," 

I interrupt him, not knowing what comes over me as the words spill out like word vomit, "Give me your number and I might do that." I could tell I did something right as he sets his pen down and shows me shocked expression.

"Just like I remember," He whispers. I raise an eyebrow, but he doesn't seem to notice that I heard him. He scribbles something down on a sticky note and passes it to me. I look at it and see his phone number. I try not to smile as I shove it deep into my pocket. 

"Well I guess we'll talk later," I say as I leave his room. 


	2. Chapter 2

When I get home from work I'm greeted by the smell of something burning. I set my things down and run towards the kitchen, terrified Zayn has set something on fire. 

"What are you--Perrie?" I come to stop when I see Ms. Edwards, one of the assistant principles, standing next to Zayn. Her blond hair falls down her back and her body is complimented in a gorgeous red dress. My eyes fall to Zayn, who stands hunched over the sink scraping at a burned pan.  

"What did I miss?" I glance from Ms. Edwards to Zayn, trying to piece together what is going on. 

"I invited Perrie over for dinner and tried to actually  _cook_  something, but... it failed," Zayn sighs. I'm not surprised at Zayn's failed attempt at cooking. Neither of us are the best at it and normally resulted in us ordering take-out or pizza. 

"So you're gonna cook for Ms. Edwards, but not me? Wow, years of friendship and this is the thanks I get. Why her anyway, no offense of course," I clear up. She excuses the questions with a shake of her hand, expressing that she isn't taking offense to it, thankfully. 

"We're on a date," Perrie says, smiling. A date? I try to run through my mind when Zayn told me that he was going on a date with Perrie. Nothing comes to mind and I sigh deeply. 

"When did you guys start dating?" 

"We've been dating for a couple weeks now. How did you miss it?" Zayn raises an eyebrow. I shrug. Zayn turns back to the pan and gives up, throwing it in the sink and walking towards Perrie. 

"Well, I'll leave you two alone... just if you have sex... not on my bed. Or the couch. Or in my bathroom. Actually, keep it in Zayn's room alright," I sigh. I turn to leave, not wanting to intrude on their date any longer than I already am. I go to the porch and pull out my phone, wondering who I should spend the rest of my night with. 

 _Screw it,_ I think as I put Mr. Styles' number into my phone and send him a text. 

** To: Hot Math Teacher **

**u doing anything tonight?**

**My roomie has a girl over and thats 2 str8 4 me**

I go to put my phone up, guessing it will take him a while to see it. My phone buzzes before I have the chance to shove it in my pocket. Shocked, I open it and see he has already texted back. 

** From: Hot Math Teacher **

**I'm not doing anything.**

** To: Hot Math Teacher **

**how about we get dinner somewhere**

** From: Hot Math Teacher **

**Together?**

** To: Hot Math Teacher **

**nooo im just going to take u 2 a restaurant and sit w/ someone else**

**yes together**

** From: Hot Math Teacher **

**Okay, that sounds nice I guess. Where do you want to eat?**

** To: Hot Math Teacher **

**ill pick you up and take you to olive garden?**

** From: Hot Math Teacher **

**As long as you know you're not getting into my pants afterwards that sounds alright.**

** To: Hot Math Teacher **

**great now my plans are ruined**

I stand and go back into the house to change out of my school clothes. When I get to my bedroom I pull off my shirt and throw it on the floor. _'I'll pick it up later'._ I sniff my arm, _'not to shabby'._  I pull on a polo and roll on some deodorant. I take a moment, trying to find my only pair of slacks. 

I turn towards the mirror to check my appearance. I run a hand through my hair real quick before picking my keys up off the dresser and leaving my room. "I'm heading out, don't call me," I yell. I wait a second for a response and shrug it off when I don't hear one. 

I look down at my phone and see that Mr. Styles had sent me his address already. Good. I send him a quick text saying I'll be there in about 5 before climbing into my car and heading off. 

~_~_~

"You mean to tell me that you haven't been to Olive Garden since high school," I ask. I've already picked up Mr. Styles and, damn, he looks good. He has taken his glasses off, allowing me to see his green eyes better, and his hair is down. 

"The last time I came here was when I took my... boyfriend here on a date. I had planned on going again with him, but something came up and we ended up... not going," Harry sighs. 

"I'm sorry, well I mean... you're here now. Who knows, maybe it was meant to be after all. I bet he was a massive douche," I say. I hold the door open for him. He stops and looks at me before entering with his head down. Is he really upset about that? I mean I would've been too, but it was in high school. 

The lady at the front desk asks, "How many are in your party?" I notice she's older, probably pushing 60. Her hair is pulled into a loose bun on the top of her head and is streaked with silver. She glances across our faces and stops, pointing at us.

"You two look so familiar... oh! You two came here a while back, didn't you? Oh, must've been 5 or 6 years, you two would've been in high school." I furrow an eyebrow. She must be thinking of someone else, because I didn't know Harry in high school. I turn towards Harry and notice his confused expression. 

"You must be mistaken. The name is...," Harry looks at me for a moment as if he's waiting for me to say something. He gulps and looks down, whispering his last name, "Styles, thank you." 

She taps that in while handing us our buzzer. "Sorry about the confusion, but you two look like these two boys that came here once. Sorry, I must be thinking of my grandson," The lady, Jadie, sighs. I thank her and head towards one of the couches. 

"So, did you grow up here," I ask. Harry looks up and smiles. 

"I went to Blackwell High School from freshman to junior year and then transferred to South Bay as a senior," He explains. 

"That's cool. I went to South Bay throughout high school. I can't believe I never met you. Weird. Who did you hang out with? I was on the soccer team," I say. I wanted to keep the conversation going. I did find it weird that he went to the same school as me, but I don't remember seeing him. It's a small school, so everyone kind of knows everyone, even if you didn't hang out with them.

"I hung out with the nerds. I loved math, as you can probably tell. I knew _of_  you, but I just never had the... guts to go talk to you I guess," Harry murmurs. I open my mouth to respond, but get cut off as our buzzer goes off. 


	3. Chapter 3

"Want to know one of my favorite things about this place," I ask. We have just placed our orders and are now waiting for our food to come out. There isn't a lot of talking while we look over the menu. I've come to the conclusion already that Harry has a hard time opening up to people. 

"Sure," Harry hums. His eyes are focused on his napkin as he unfolds it and drapes it across his lap like a princess. He looks up and gives me a small, fond smile. 

"It takes a long time for them to bring out good, so I have more time to talk to you," I start. Harry smiles a little bigger, this time showing his dimples. I can even see a small tint of pink forming on his cheeks. "How about we just ask each other questions to get to know each other. I'm shit at just randomly listing stuff about me," I joke. Harry purses his lips before shrugging, obviously hesitant.  

"Sounds fun I guess, you can start," Harry replies. 

"Alright, what's the story about the boy you dated. It sounded like it meant a lot to you," I ask. I find myself intrigued with the small story about Harry's ex-boyfriend. Since finding out we went to the same school for a year I've  been dying to find out if I knew him or not. However, Harry's face goes pale as he fumbles for his words. 

"It was senior year and he was my first boyfriend, relationship actually, and I...uh don't know. We went on a date and...dated a bit and then he...well something happened and we found someone...better I guess," Harry sighs. What an idiot. I try to think back, wondering if I knew anything about a couple in high school. There weren't a lot of gay guys back then, nonetheless a gay couple. My mind blanks, as per usual, and I'm met with a black nothingness regarding my last year of schooling. 

"What's your favorite color," Harry asks. He looked absentminded, as if he wasn't completed here. 

"Blue," I answer. He sighs softly as he looks down at one of the many rings he wore. I haven't noticed how many he's wearing until now. He twirls one around his finger and mutters something I don't catch. 

"What did you say," I question. Harry looks up, giving me a confused look. "You just said something, but I didn't catch it." 

"Don't worry about it, I was just...thinking out loud," He mutters again. I can't stand when people pull stuff like that. I have been in a room where people talk about me, but not loud enough for me to hear, for nearly a whole year. It's frustrating having to go through something like that. 

"My next question is what did you just say," I demand a little louder this time. Harry looks up, eyebrows pulled into a worried expression. I watch as his face relaxes, obviously giving in. 

"I said, it's still the same," He answers quietly.

My brain runs, nearly tripping over itself as I try to make sense of what he just said. "How did you know my favorite color? If you knew then why did you ask? I...I don't...," I stammer. 

He sucks in a breath as he tries to piece together something. I watch him as he looks over my shoulder and sighs. "Oh uh, the food's  here," He murmurs. I turn around and see the waitress coming over with two plates of food. She sets it down in front of us without much of a word before hurrying off.  

He takes another delicate bite of food before whispering, "I'm sorry, Lou." I pause, fork halfway to my mouth as the nickname slips from under his breath and passes between us.  

~_~_~

I've already dropped off Harry and I'm pulling into my parking lot, when I see the strange car parked in our driveway. I don't recognize the car at all and stop as my heart starts to race. 

I see a strange, hooded figure slowly walk from behind the house to the mystery car. I slouch in my seat, not wanting to be seen by the person in case they're a killer or something. There isn't anything urgent about them as they climb into their car. 

I slip out of my car after I see the car drive off. Visions of Zayn's and Perrie's dead and bleeding bodies play in my head as I slowly open the door. I sigh loudly as I see Zayn sitting on the couch, looking about as normal as ever. 

"Did you see that car that was parked in the driveway? There was this creepy person wearing a black hoodie walking towards it and then driving away. I thought something happened," I say. Zayn turns to me and gulps lightly. 

"It was nothing...they were coming over to talk to me. A co-worker. Nothing huge," Zayn stammers. I knew he was lying, I mean why would a co-worker come to the house after 8? I let it slide, not wanting to get caught up in something I didn't want to get caught up in. 

"I'm going to bed. Please tell me you didn't have sex on it," I sigh. Zayn shakes his head no and I head towards my room. I quickly peel off my clothes and climb into bed. I find myself drifting to sleep as I lay my head down.

_"Lou! Louis! Open your eyes silly," Someone laughs. I open my eyes in confusion and look around. I'm in an unfamiliar house. The walls are a dark green and a picture of deer was hung on the wall. I turn around and see a boy. His face was blurry, almost as if my mind didn't know who it was, but remembered the moment. I look towards the bed and see...myself, but younger. I recognized my terrible hairstyle and dressing as senior year._

_I see that the boy is holding something, a box. I didn't have to see his face to tell he was excited. He was rocking back and forth on his feet as he handed the young me the box and sat next to him. I walk towards the pair, feeling slightly invasive as I watch._

_"Open it! I can't wait to see your reaction," The boy sighs. 'I watch as 'I' open the box and see a familiar jersey. It was my Los Angeles Galaxy soccer club jersey. I still owned it to this day._

_"It's great! Thanks, I'm going to wear it tomorrow," 'I' promise. The younger me brings the boy into a hug. Even as I stood there, watching the moment, I could tell how much this boy meant to me when I was younger. I longed to know who was giving me the gift._

_"I'm glad you like it," The boys whispers into past me's ear._

_"I don't like it, I love it. And I love you too," 'I' kiss he boy on the nose. I try not to cringe as I hear myself say 'I love you'. Even in high school I found it weird to say it unless I truly felt it towards someone. I'm lead to the conclusion this boy had to mean something to me._

_"I love you too, promise you'll always be here with me," The boys sighs softly._

_"Promise."_

I jolt awake and stare up at my ceiling.

Who was the boy in the dreams? I didn't let anyone call me Lou unless they were super close to me and the way we were acting towards each other lead me to believe he was my boyfriend. I knew I had a boyfriend in high school, Mom told me that numerous times, but I doubt that it was who I was thinking of. He was never...romantic enough for something like that. 

There was only one person that really knew what happened senior year and one person who would help me figure out what was going on. 

My mother. 


	4. Chapter 4

I pride myself in being one of the first people to work. There is always something nice about getting to work and being the first one to turn the lights on and get ready. However, when I pull into the parking lot the following morning I find two cars parked in the teacher parking lot already. 

Both cars look familiar, however it's too early for my mind to place where I know them form. I grab my duffel bag from the backseat before heading inside the gym. I let my duffel slide off my shoulder taking no time in getting comfy. Instead, I grab my keys and go to investigate. 

I can't look suspicious. I find myself walking down the hall from the gym to the front entrance. The lights aren't turned on in the front office yet, which is a slight relief. I find myself strolling down the hall, stopping when I see a lit-up hallway. 

I look both ways to make sure nobody is near me before easing my way down the hallway, stopping as I see light shine from the bottom of a door. This is the art room, as in Zayn's classroom. He never got here before I did. I press my ear to the door, wanting to eavesdrop.  

 _"I love you,"_   Zayn's voice says. I find myself cringing at the statement. Perrie and him can't be at the 'I love you's' already. It seems way to soon, but considering I haven't had a boyfriend in at least two years I can't say much. 

 _"I love you more."_  That voice sounds nothing like Perrie's. I think back to the cars and now place Zayn's, but the other is still a mystery. 

 _"I'm sorry you had to come so early. I miss you a lot and it's hard not kissing you whenever I want to. You're so adorable I find it hard to resist,"_  Zayn huffs. My brain hammers trying to figure out who Zayn's kissing. I know the voice didn't belong to Perrie, but who else could it be? Nothing's adding up. 

 _"You saw me yesterday,"_   The person teases. Maybe my brain's just playing tricks on me. It has to be Perrie. There's no other logical explanation. I stand, deciding to just ask Zayn about it later. However, when I stand and go to turn, my foot slips and I fall. I land on the ground with a thud and I pray that nobody hears it. 

Silence. It's the only thing that I hear. After a moment I hear rustling and the door opens. Zayn pops his head out from behind the door. His face transforms from a frown to a sign of relief. I furrow my eyebrows as I stand up on my own.  

"Louis, what are you doing here," Zayn asks. I scoff. 

"I should be asking you that question. Who's in there? I heard a voice," I snap. Zayn's face falls and he glances back in his room. 

"I was on the phone with someone. It was on speaker because I was trying to clean up a little before class. Nothing to worry about, just go back downstairs. I'll see you this afternoon." Zayn gives me a small smile before shutting the door. I narrow my eyes as I take a step back. He's hiding something. 

I hate when people hide stuff from me. 

~_~_~

Boys athletics is the last period of the day. It's great that way, because the equipment's already out and ready for after school practice. Nobody has to bother changing, we just continue after the bell. 

"Payne! Come here," I bark. The team's in the middle of a scrimmage, but Payne's totally off his game. It surprises me. He turns to face me when he hears his name and jogs over. He wears a small frown.

"Is something wrong? You're not playing very well and I except more from you" I ask. I find myself lowering my voice and letting it become softer, abandoning the hardened tone I use during practice. I may seem like a jackass most of the time, but I pride myself in knowing when to be gentler. 

"I haven't been getting enough sleep at night. I'm making up all my work and trying to stay caught up in math, but the art show is coming up and Mr. Malik has been hard on me. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be making up excuses, but I'm just having a rough time," He explains. 

I understand that completely. When I was in high school I struggled in my core classes and found myself falling behind a lot. Studying consumed most of my life, but when I wasn't doing that I had a script or monologue to memorize in theater. It was always one thing after another. I was just glad I had a coach that understood and helped me. If it wasn't for him, I don't know where I would be right now. 

"Go home, rest, and do whatever you need to do. You got today off, but tomorrow I want to you see you at your best, okay?" I pat his shoulder as he thanks me. He brings me in for a short hug before running off to the changing room. 

I decide to cut practice a little short today, since everyone seems a little down. There's no point in practicing if everyone isn't giving their all anyway. I know Zayn will probably be up in his room still. We normally just meet up with each other at the fields and then head home in separate cars, but since I cut practice early he probably isn't down yet. 

I whistle as I make my way up to Zayn's room. I feel at ease and almost calm for the first time in a long time. The only thing that worries me is the incident this morning, but I'll ask Zayn about that sometime tonight. It's probably nothing to worry about. 

I open the door and stop as I see Zayn kissing someone that isn't female. "Zayn?" The word leaves my mouth loud and very confused. The two jump apart and my heart drops as I see someone I know. The car and hooded figure from last night come back to me and I realize how I know it.

"Liam?" 


	5. Chapter 5

"Liam?" 

I quickly close the door, forgetting why I went there in the first place. I turn and rush to my car. My mind's filling with different explanations to explain what's going on. Zayn's breaking the law. What I just witnessed is  _so_  illegal. 

I need to distract myself from what I just saw. The only other thing that has been consuming my mind floats to the surface and I find myself driving to my mother's house. I slip out of my car, trying to find the right words to describe the situation. Before I know it my mother is opening the front door and smiling at me. 

"Hey, Louis! Come in! What brings you here?" She leads me in the house and smiles as I hesitantly take a seat on the sofa. 

"I needed to to talk to you," I state. Her eyebrows furrow as if she already knows what I want to question her about. A bubble forms in my throat as I try to stall. She gestures for me to continue and I sigh before starting. 

"Well, I had this dream. It was of me, but I was in third-person and there was a boy. I felt like I knew him, but it was like my mind couldn't remember who it was. He had given me my jersey, you know the LA galaxy jersey? I...just, can you explain senior year to me again? I know you do it every time, but I just...need to know what this may mean," I stammer. My mother nods. 

The accident. The accident that caused me to forget all of my senior year. I hate talking about it. The event caused me to lose the information I had gained throughout my senior year and forced me to retake the year. It also made my dream of becoming a professional athlete nearly unattainable. 

From what I've been told, someone pushed me to the ground and kicked my head in. The kick ended up giving me Retrograde Amnesia. This type of amnesia resulted in me losing most of my memories before the accident, but didn't cause any long-term memory problems. The doctor said that I would have no problem remembering past skills or every day-to-day activities. I was told that my memory could be 'jogged' if people were to give me things from my past, but things that happened the day of accident, or even a few weeks before, were essentially lost forever. 

This resulted in my senior year being one big blur. Big milestones stood out, for instance I remember my birthday and the first day of school, but when it comes down to the fine details I just can't remember. My mother has always been there to answer questions for me when I need them. We've always been close which means she knows what had been going on in my life and I've never been so thankful for the closeness between us. 

"What is it that you want me to re-explain," Mom asks. Whenever I want to know about something that happened that year my mom would tell me, but typically it's always specific things I wanted to hear about. 

"Tell me about my relationships again," I answer. She sucks in a breath and looks at her hands, preparing herself to explain. My relationships are always something I've been curious about, so Mom has explained it countless times already. 

"In August you told me about Stan and how you had a crush on him. You told me that he was nerdy and you were scared about what your friends would think. Stan asked you out in November, right before your birthday, and you said yes. The two of you were still dating after the accident happened," Mother explains. The story she's told has always been short and too the point. I guess after explaining it so many times, the story shortens itself. 

"Do you have any pictures, or anything really, from the relationship? I think something's been triggering my memories. Maybe if I saw something it'll help bring it to the surface," I suggest. My mother gulps lightly and hestitantly stands. I watch her as she ventures into my old bedroom and comes back with a box. 

I don't recognize the box, so I figure she hasn't showed it to me before. She places the box on the table and opens it. The box is full of origami pieces and each origami piece is made out of a different kind and color of paper. Most of what's in the box are typical cranes, but there are also a few hearts and flowers. 

I reach in and dig around a little bit before feeling something metal. I furrow an eyebrow as I pull it out to reveal a ring. It's silver and doesn't shin anymore. I can tell I had worn it a lot from the small dings in the metal. 

"What's this," I mutter. I pull my attention from the ring and back to my mother. She wipes her teary eyes and smiles a little bit. 

"He got you that for your three month anniversary. You never left the house unless you had it on. I could tell you two were madly in love. You said it all the time and I believed it. It's a bummer you got in your accident. I can't help but imagine where you two would've been if it hadn't happened," Mother sighs. I roll my eyes and decide I'll keep the ring. It feels nice wearing it, almost like it belongs there, as if I was missing something without it. 

I slip it on my middle finger and continue looking through the pieces of origami. I find a larger crane, probably the largest, and on the outside in neat cursive was the word 'unfold'.

_I love you_

_-S_

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the 'S' stands for Stan. 

As I go through the box a while longer, something hits me. I become heavy as I try to find a logical explanation, but nothing comes to me.

"Mom, you're telling me Stan made these all these?" She looks up and gives me a small nod. 

"It was your thing," Mom answers simply. 

"I dated Stan in tenth grade and I know that he hated origami. I know because I had that phase where I was really into it and he always teased me about it. He wouldn't put all this time into making stuff like this. And this handwriting, Stan had terrible handwriting and this is so...so neat and nice," I say slowly. 

"Louis, I think it's time for you to go." 

"What do you mean? I just got here," I protest. Mom stands and gives me a look. She gestures for me to stand and I do, following her towards the door. 

Mom opens the door, "One last thing," I whisper. She wraps her arms around herself, clearly done with the conversation. "Did I know Harry Styles?" I've never seen my mom's face become so harsh looking. Her mouth forms a scold and she polity steps back into the house.  

"Have a nice trip home," She mutters. I raise an eyebrow, but before I have time to say anything she's slamming the door in my face. So much for answers. 


	6. Chapter 6

It's the following afternoon and practice has just ended. I'm sitting in my office watching soccer clips to get some new ideas for the team. I hear a light knock at the door and turn to see Harry. He's clad in his usual polo and pants, glasses perched on his nose. His hair's pulled up into a bun out of his face. I watch as he fiddles with his fingers. 

"Louis, can we... talk?" I shut the lid of my computer and turn back towards him. He takes a step in and shuts the door. 

"What's up?" 

"It's about... us," He mutters. My heart drops to my toes. This is never a good talk. I didn't know there's an 'us' to talk about, but I guess there is. "I don't... think... we should talk. I mean... it's been nice, but I don't think this is... healthy," He stammers. 

I glance down to his hands. He's fiddling with his hands, probably a nervous habit, but I notice a ring. It's silver, but has  been worn out like he's been wearing it for years. He isn't... married is he? My whole body freezes as I imagine Harry being married.  

"What do you mean it isn't healthy? We're just friends... there's nothing unhealthy about it. You aren't  _married_... are you?" Harry's eyes go big and he shakes his head. I watch as he loosens the bun on his head, probably thinking. 

"I just... you. I can't with you. You make me... feel things. Things that I'm not allowed to feel towards you," Harry sighs. He starts pacing across the room, making my anxiety skyrocket. 

"Is it good things? Like nerves?" Did he like me? I stand and take a step towards him, pulling him towards me so he stops pacing. He looks me in the eyes and gulps. I watch as his eyes nervously graze over my face. He shakes his head and looks down at his hands instead. 

"I can't do this...I just can't," He whispers. I can hear the shakiness in his voice as he speaks. I lift his head up so he's looking at me. He tries to turn away, obviously embarrassed, but I keep our eyes locked. 

"You can't just leave me like that. Have you thought about how I feel," I whisper back.

"Everyday I think about how you feel, Louis, and I just can't...please," He mutters. He tries to back away, but I pull him closer. My minds goes on auto-pilot as I lean forwards and connect our lips.  

A thousand feelings swarm me in a matter of seconds. It's like there's a dam unleashing all it's waters at once. He wraps his arms around my waist and holds me close as he deepens the kiss. My hands go to his neck and for some reason it feels... natural. It feels like my body already knows how to work with his. 

"I missed you so much," Harry whispers. I keep the distance short so I can still reach forwards and peck his lips. They're like drugs. 

"What do you mean?" I'm too focused on kissing him to really hear what he's saying. I don't want to have a deep discussion about my feelings, I just want to kiss him. 

"I have something I need to tell you," Harry sighs. He steps away from me and I groan. Why did we have to do this now? Couldn't we have this talk later? 

"What?"

"We knew each other in high school. Really well actually," Harry starts. I furrow my eyebrows. Mom never said anything about Harry whenever we talked about high school. Why would she leave him out? I think back to her tense attitude when I mentioned him. 

"We were friends," I ask slowly. Harry looks at his hands and twirls the ring a couple of times. 

"Something like that," He whispers. 

"What do you mean, something like that?" I demand. Harry walks towards the door and gives me one last, sad, look. I can tell that whatever it is, it's eating him up inside. 

"I'm really sorry, Louis, but I can't talk to you anymore. I wasn't even supposed to see you after high school, everyone told me that it would be unhealthy and that if I were to...heal properly you couldn't be in the picture," Harry cries. I don't know when he started crying, but I now notice the tears slipping down his rosy cheeks. 

"What's going on, Harry? What am I missing? You can't just leave me like this! You obviously know something," I scream. I feel my own tears start to fill my eyes. I'm so desperate for him to stay and explain what's going on. I hate not knowing.

"I'm really sorry, Louis. Please, delete my number," Harry whispers. I watch pathetically as he slips out of my office. I plop back on my chair and sit there, allowing myself to cry. I hear the door open and watch as Payne walks in. 

"Coach? Are you okay? Do I need to call Zayn?" I give a small nod. The only thing I want right now is to be with my best friend. Zayn always knows how to cheer me up. I hear Liam pull out his phone and call him. A moment later the door opens and I feel familiar hands wrap around me. 

"Liam, can you lock up? I'm gonna take Louis home," Zayn explains. Zayn rubs my back as I stand and grab my things. I hate crying over something as pathetic as a boy. Zayn walks me to his car, not wanting me to drive home. 

"Louis... what's up," Zayn asks. I feel a little better by the time we get back to the house. The crying has left me empty and emotionless. I can go for a nap. Zayn and I are sitting on the couch. I sip from a cup of tea while Zayn watches me. 

"Harry said that we couldn't talk anymore," I say quietly. Zayn gives a small nod. 

"I know that he's important to you, I know that, but I also know you. You don't cry over things like that, Louis. There's something else this is all coming from." I felt like we were both back in high school. When Stan broke up with me the first time, Zayn came and he made tea and we just talked. It was nice to have moments like this where I wasn't forced to be some hardened coach or hold up a masculine exterior. I like knowing I can be vulnerable in front of someone like this.  

"There's something he isn't telling me and I hate not knowing what happened. It's my life I should know more than anyone else about me. Because of that stupid accident I don't have control of my life anymore. I keep putting it behind me, but things just keep coming up like this," I complain .

"Hey, how about this weekend I take you around the town to things that held significance and see if it helps with anything," Zayn suggests. 

"That would be great." 


	7. Chapter 7

It's the following Saturday and I can't be more nervous as Zayn picks up his car keys. I can't believe I'm doing this. "Ready for your afternoon of memories," Zayn asks. I give a small nod as I follow him to his car. 

"So, where first," I ask. I don't know how to feel. On one hand, I'm excited to learn more about senior year, but I'm also terrified, what if I hear something I don't want to hear? 

"School," Zayn answers. The word reminds me of the fight I had with Harry earlier last week, but I push it from my thoughts. This is supposed to be a fun afternoon, or at least an educational one. A few minutes later we drive up on the school. 

Zayn parks the car and we climb out together. I follow him as he leads me to the soccer stands. He pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the gate, opening them wide enough to allow both of us in. Zayn leads me to towards the stands and gestures for me to sit somewhere. 

"This is where everything began. It was November and you kept obsessing over--we'll just call him S, I don't like saying his name anyway--S," Zayn explains. "You and I were sitting over here and S and his friends were sitting a few rows behind us. One of S' friends came over to us and handed you a little duck made out of paper. The guy told you to unfold it and you did. On the inside was...

_"Date me," I read. The guy points at his friend, I turn hoping to see the person and confirm that Stan had been the one to ask me out, but instead I see a blurry face. I try to focus on it more, but my brain wouldn't allow me to make out the person._

_"Tell him it's a yes," I hear myself say. The guy smiles and dashes back to his friend to give him the big news._

~_~_~

The next place Zayn took me to is the park. It's familiar. I remember coming here with Stan when we dated sophomore year, so I'm not surprised that we had come as seniors as well. 

"What's the deep story behind the park," I ask. I stick my hands in my pockets as Zayn leads me down a sidewalk. The park's pretty busy today (it is the weekend after all). There are a few people running and a couple kids at the play ground and I also notice an elderly couple sitting on a bench near the pond feeding the ducks. 

"This is where you guys kissed for the first time," Zayn starts. I turn to look at him, a little confused. 

"How do you know that we had our first kiss here? Were you spying on us or something?" Zayn rolls his eyes. He shoves me playful, laughing.

"No, jackass, you told me about it," He explains. We sit for a while, soaking in the sunset. I glance back over to the elderly couple and find myself falling into another memory. 

 _"You look cute today," S says. I wanted to believe it was Stan, but the voice...it sounded off. Not like him, but familiar. I couldn't place it._  

_"Thanks," I mutter. The boy leans in and presses his lips to mine. It was sweet and innocent. It wasn't like a heavy make-out session or even open-mouthed. It was wonderful and afterwards I got a feeling in my stomach I had experienced recently._

~_~_~

"Isn't this the place the team went after every game," I ask. We enter a small ice-cream shop a few miles from school. I'm surprised the place is still running. It only has 3 booths and a small table, not counting the booth at the front where you pay and get the ice-cream.

"Yes it is. It also happens to be the first time you--"

_"Guys, this is my boyfriend."_

"Came out," I answer for him. He turns to look at me, clearly shocked. I shrug, trying to downplay the moment, but I think Zayn can tell I'm pleased with myself. 

"That's right. We were sitting... here," Zayn says. I follow him and slide into the booth. "You and S were across from me," Zayn explains. I run my fingers over a carving of a heart on the table.  

"Everyone was really supportive of you. I think it had something to do with you being the captain, but everyone was fine with it. In fact I think someone bought you guys your ice-cream just for having the nerve to say it," Zayn explains. I nod, trying to remember. 

_"You're dating...S-S...St-t."_

I push myself to try and remember the rest of what he had said. The name. I just need the damn name. I just want to be sure that's what his name is. Why can't I remember?

"Want to go to our last place," Zayn asks. I give a small nod and he stands, walking out of the shop. She gives us a kind smile, but there is something in her eyes that tells me she knows something I don't.

~_~_~

"My mom's?" Zayn pulls into the driveway and nods before heading towards the door. I follow behind, still confused.

"There's no better place to find out about your past than your own room. I wouldn't be surprised if you wrote it down or have pictures somewhere." Zayn brings his hand up to the door and knocks. "I think I remember where you kept your personal pictures actually," He mumbles to himself. 

My mother answers a moment later, "Second time this week, you haven't visited this much since you moved out. Zayn! How wonderful for you to drop by. Come in, come in, I'm being rather rude. Would you guys like anything to drink?" She leads us inside and gestures for us to take a seat. 

"No ma'am. We're just going on a walk down memory lane. So far, we've been to the school, the park, and the ice-cream parlor," Zayn explains. Mother nods. "We were wondering if we could go look in Louis' old room? Figured there could be some stuff in there," Zayn mutters. She gives him a worried look, but after a moment nods.

I follow him to my old bedroom. He walks to the bed and lifts the mattress, moving it over to reveal a small notebook hidden under it. He smiles, clearly pleased with himself, before opening the notebook only to find all the pages torn out.

"Where did they go? You wrote so much in this thing," Zayn protests loudly. Mom comes in a moment later, looking distressed. She looks between us and frowns. "Do you know what happened to the pages in here? He taped all sorts of photos and had so many memories in this," Zayn questions. When she doesn't answer he goes to the drawers of my desk and opens them, to reveal nothing. 

"What about the letters that he always sent you. You kept them in here, I know it for sure." I had never seen Zayn look so confused before. He walks around the room again, trying to find any trace of that year, only to come up empty handed. "Someone took all the photos and letters and books you had that logged your whole relationship. What happened to it all," Zayn asks my mother. I shiver as his voice becomes harsh and accusing. 

"I.. um...  _he_  came. He said that since he wasn't going to get to see Louis again he wanted to remember the times they had together. I... gave him everything. I didn't know you was going to want it," Jay explains. I walk towards my mother, confused and hurt. 

"How could you just give away my memories like that? I had everything written out and logged and you just... gave it away? To who? Stan? You gave Stan all my stuff? Did you know what kind of  _shit_ he put me through? How about those nights I came home with bruises from when he grabbed me? When I came home crying because he called me a whore? Hell, that was all just sophomore year! Who knows what he could've done senior." I was overly pissed. I watch as tears start to gather in my mom's eyes, but I don't care. How can I? 

"I'm sorry, Louis I just wasn't thinking I don't know. I'm sorry," She mutters. I roll my eyes and storm out of my bedroom. 

"Yea, you obviously weren't thinking. How about I just write down all my  _other_  memories for you to hand out too, huh?" She enters the living room, with Zayn not far behind. 

"Louis, it's okay, we can look somewhere else. You shouldn't be yel--," Zayn tries, but I cut him off. 

"You're no better! Both of you are keeping something from me and I'm so  _sick_  of it. I was supposed to be learning things tonight, but all I learned is that my mother doesn't care about my privacy and my best friend likes keeping secrets. I bet the only reason you're doing this is to protect Stan's ass, huh? I'll be waiting in the car, I just wanna go home," I huff, slamming the door on my way out. 


	8. Chapter 8

My mind is jumbled after our weekend adventure and the last thing I want to do is go into work and act like everything's okay. I've spent nearly the entire weekend avoiding Zayn at all costs. He tried making it up to me and apologized way to many times to count, but he knows I was hurt. Zayn knows something and isn't telling me. He shouldn't be allowed to keep my life from me, so I have no clue why he keeps thinking apologizing will fix it. 

"Louis!" I'm in the gym trying to sort a few things before the day starts. I don't turn, assuming it's probably Zayn just trying to apologize again. I roll my eyes and continue to set up the equipment for first period. "Louis, I need to talk to you." I huff, knowing that he isn't giving up. I turn and stop in my tracks as I see Mr. Sheeran, aka the most annoying history teacher in the history of history teachers. 

"Don't call me Louis, it's Coach Tomlinson to you," I snap. I can't stand the guy. He always finds a way to criticize me and then pretends like we're friends. 

"Coach Tomlinson. Okay. Whatever. I would just like a word," He corrects. 

"Yeah unlike you I understand plain English, Fruit Loop. What is so important that you have to bother me on a Monday morning," I ask. I continue walking, but he catches up with me. 

"It's about your friend, Harry... sorry Mr. Styles," He sneers. I turn to him and glare. The smirk he wears makes me want to slap him across the face. "Now you're interested." 

"What do you want Fruit Loop?" 

"I need you to stay away from him. He asked you to stay away and yet you still go harass him, what kind of cruel person are you Tomlinson, I thought you care about him?" My eyebrows furrow as I try to process what he's talking about. 

"I haven't been near him since Friday. I've done my part. I have no clue what you're talking about, but I suggest you get the hell out of my gym," I snap. I turn again and start towards the locker rooms. I want to check that they're clean before they started letting students in the building.

"What are you going to do? Throw a ball at me? We're not in high school anymore, Louis." 

I stop and turn towards him. I'm beyond mad. My patience is already running dry after everything that went down this weekend. "Get the fuck out of my gym. Move your scrawny little ass out and go deal with your own dick-sized problems. I have my own life I have to deal with and it would be great if you could just take your large nose out of my business," I shout. I sigh loudly and continue walking, hoping my rant makes him leave.

"Oh look the baby has a little potty-mouth doesn't he? Well, I'll see you at the staff camp out this weekend, Tomlinson." I stop. 

"Staff camp out?" He folds his arms across his chest and smiles at me. 

"Oh, your boyfriend Zayn didn't tell you? Mr. Cowell put together a staff camp out so the staff members could get to know each other better," He explains. I flip him off and he smiles, turning towards the door and leaving. When I'm sure he's gone I start towards Zayn's room. 

~_~_~

"Zayn Javadd Malik you better answer this door," I yell, bring my fist to the door once again. I hear him groan as he cracks the door open, which is enough to tell me he's trying to hide something, and by something I mean someone, and by someone I'm sure that means Payne. 

"What," He complains. I grab the door and pry it from his grip, throwing it open. 

It's a typical art room. Desks take up a large portion of the room and cabinets cover the wall. A wall's covered with a clear tarp and street art's painted over it. A box of spray paint cans lay on the ground near the wall. Besides that, Zayn's desk is near the front of the room and it's covered with his art. I glance over the room and make awkward eye contact with Liam, who sits on one of the tables. 

Payne  squeaks, "Coach?" 

"Zayn, what staff camp out did you not tell me about," I ask. He rubs his face as he closes the door and takes a seat at one of the desks. 

"Mr. Cowell thought that the staff was still not exactly a team so he put together a staff camp out this weekend. Everyone without a real excuse has to go. I'm going," He explains. I feel like banging my head against the door. The last thing I want to do this weekend is be stuck with a bunch of co-workers. It's bad enough having to come everyday and see them and now they want to take up my weekend too? 

"When were we going to find out about this?"

"He sent an email out. Maybe if you actually checked your inbox you would've known," He suggests. I see Payne inch his way over to Zayn and sit in the seat next to him. 

"I'm not in the mood for your attitude. Fruit Loop came down to harass me about...um...you know," I sigh as I take the seat across from them. I'm tired of avoiding Zayn. I'm still mad at him for keeping the secret from me, but I can't stop talking to Zayn, he's my best friend. 

"Yeah, figured he was do something like that," Zayn grumbles. We sit in silence for a while before Payne speaks up. 

"Who's Fruit Loop?" Zayn wraps an arm around his neck and leans forward, playing a kiss right above his ear. 

"Mr. Sheeran, but you aren't allowed to call him that. Can't be having you getting in trouble before the big art show," Zayn reminds him. 

"Or the game," I add. 

"Well it's almost 7 so I probably need to sneak back downstairs before I get in trouble. See you at lunch," Payne sighs. Zayn stands and brings him into a hug. I  watch awkwardly as the couple exchange a few kisses before Zayn allows Payne to leave. 

"When were you going to tell me you were dating my star player," I snap. Zayn shrugs. 

"Same day you were going to clean your room," He snaps back. 

"So you never intended on telling me?" 

"I could lose my job, so not really."


	9. Chapter 9

Today was Thursday and Thursday meant game day. Game day was always a hectic day. It was after school and the boys were in the gym getting mentally prepared. I was outside, setting up waters so my boys didn't die of thirst while playing. I had reminded them multiple times to do it themselves, but they always forgot and I couldn't risk my athletes not have water. 

"Louis?" I turn, opening my mouth to yell at an athlete for using my first name. I stop as I see Harry standing at the gate. 

"What are you doing here?" I quickly set the waters down and try to busy myself getting the bench lined up. 

He was clad in his familiar bun and glasses, but instead of his normal button down shirt he wore a neon yellow shirt. It took me a second to recognize it as the 2009 school soccer shirt. The front showing the school mascot and the back having a list of all the players by positions. 

"I just wanted to wish the team luck," He says. "And tell you that I would be coming to the game tonight," He adds. I look down at my 2016 soccer shirt and try to straighten it, hoping to find a way to keep my hands busy. The reality of what he was saying hits me and I become angry. 

"What happened to you staying away from me? I thought you said that you didn't want to be around me, yet you come to my game. That's being a little bitchy don't you think?" I try not to sound harsh, but I couldn't help it. It was a constant on-again-off-again situation and I was tired of it. One second he wants to stay away from me and now he wants to come out to my game to spend even more time around me. 

"Not everything is about you, I'm coming because I want to see the game. My students are on your team and they asked me to come. You should pull your head out of your ass and realize that not everything it always about you Lou-is." He huffs loudly and turns away from me. I try not to notice his near slip up with my name. He nearly called me Lou. 

"Stop! Harry come back, I...I'm sorry. I just...don't understand. You want to stay away from me, but you do things that constantly puts in situations where we end up being together," I protest. I walk towards him and grab his arm. I turn him to face me, not wanting him to walk away from this conversation. 

"You don't have to understand it to respect it. Every time I even come close to you, you always...bring us together...like this," He sighs. We were close at this point, our chests nearly touching. I could feel his breath fanning across my face. I wanted so badly to close the distance between us, but I couldn't. He would hate me. I would hate me. Kissing him would only make me want to be closer to him and I couldn't risk that. Unlike it, I intended on keeping to my word. 

"I can't help it. I feel drawn towards you. Every time you come around here I think about the kiss and my feelings for you intensify," I whisper. He takes a step back and tucks a stray piece of hair behind his ear. 

"Stay away from me Coach," He mutters. I let him go, knowing if I demanding on him staying it would only end in more tears. I watch as he runs back towards the building. 

I think back to his shirt. We both graduated in 2010, but he was wearing a 2009 shirt. Mr. Cowell did give out old school t-shirts, but it was so specific. 2009 was our junior year and Harry didn't go to school then. I may have forgotten all of senior year, but I remembered junior and I know I would've remembered Harry. I push it from my thoughts, deciding instead to turn my attention to winning the game. 

~_~_~

"Zayn," I call. The game was over and I was at home. We had won, which was to be expected. It was nearly eleven at this point and I was hungry and confused. 

I walk into the living room and find Zayn on the couch. He was wearing his Simpsons sweats. He had a thing with his sweatpants. He would wear different sweats for different occasions. Simpsons meant a date, Garfield meant bad day, and typical he wore his pizza sweats after he got laid. He wasn't like he did it on purpose. It was more of a subconscious thing, I think. 

"When's Liam coming over," I question, pointing at the sweats. He looks down and blushes. He had been trying to prove that my sweats theory wasn't true, but for the last year it had been pretty accurate. 

"Oh, he said he was going to come around later tonight. He told his parents he was staying at a friend's house, so he might spend the night here," Zayn explains. I roll my eyes, why did I see this coming? The one night I needed to talk to Zayn about something his boy toy was coming over. 

"If you don't mind I'm going to watch a movie in a few. I can wait till he gets here so you can watch it with us, if you want," Zayn suggests. I shrug. I head to the bathroom, hoping to get a shower before Liam comes. I'm not long and get out a few minutes later wearing cozy clothes. I head back into the living room to find Liam sitting on our couch. 

"Hey Payne," I mutter. He glances up from his phone and smiles at me. 

"Nice game tonight Coach," He replies. Zayn walks in carrying two movies a moment later. 

"Payne, do me a favor and call me Louis outside of school. It feels awkward to be called Coach or Mr. Tomlinson at my house," I tell him, he nods as I head into the kitchen. I pull out a frozen pizza and wait for the oven to preheat. 

"Louis what do you want to watch, Grease or High School Musical," Zayn asks. I poke my head into the living room and pretend to think. 

"That's a stupid question, Grease. I put in a meat pizza by the way. You're not vegetarian, right Payne?" I ask. He shakes his head no. 

"Hey Louis, could you call me Liam when we're not at school? I mean if we'll be spending more time together I'd rather you call me by my name. When I hear Payne I think I'm at practice or about to get yelled at," Liam asks. I shrug. 

"Okay, Liam. Sounds fair to me," I tell him. I take my usual spot on the couch and pull my blanket over my body. Zayn takes his seat next to Liam and pulls him into his arms. All night watching Liam and Zayn only made me wish I could be that way with Harry. 

Maybe some day. 


	10. Chapter 10

"Look at everyone's smiling faces. It's great to have everyone out here today. I'm glad to see that so many of you came. I've created a list that's in alphabetical order, but I'm also making sure that you aren't going to be staying with someone that came from your school. So, your camping partner and seat partner on the bus is not going to be someone from the school you came from," Mr. Cowell, the principal, explains. 

There were a large group of teachers standing outside the school building. We had rented buses to take us to the camping site where we were going to be at for this weekend. Most of the teachers that came were either the losers with no life, the losers that were  _way_  to involved with the school, or the losers who had nothing to do (that loser would be me).

Zayn made me come saying that it would be 'a good chance to get to know everyone' and to 'pull myself out of my office and get social' neither of which I enjoyed. 

"Guess we can't be partners," Zayn sighs. He takes a step away from me to talk to some random guy I didn't know. 

I look around, trying to spot a familiar face as Mr. Cowell tries to get everything together. I see a mass of people, mostly around my age, who were all to excited to be spending a weekend in the wilderness with no wifi or working toilets. I shiver at the thought. 

"Hey Coach, didn't think of you really as the camping type." I turn and see one of my old teachers, Mr. McCray. He was an older man, probably in his forties or fifties now. He was my old science teacher. He was probably one of my favorite teachers over the years, because he actually took an interest in me as an individual and spent one-on-one time with me. 

"I'm not, Zayn pulled me out here. What about you? How's Betty," I ask. Betty, his wife, and him were both pretty active members of the community. Both of them were sweet and tolerable. 

"She said I should bond with my staff members, besides she had a baby shower on Saturday that I wanted to ditch anyway," He jokes.

"Oh, well tell her I said hi," I tell him. He nods as he weaves his way over to another member of staff. Just as I was about to take a seat Mr. Cowell gestures of our attention.

"Okay, so I'll start calling out partners. As I do, please line up and fill in at the back. Sorry if I'm sounding bossy, if I start getting unbearable just tell me," He starts. He goes down the list naming off teachers. I didn't know most of them. Which was kind of sad on my end, not like I cared anyway. I watch as Zayn gets on the bus with Mr. McCray.

"Harry Styles is with Louis Tomlinson," My head snaps up. Oh shit. I look around, trying to spot him before I end up sitting next to him on the bus.

I catch his gaze from across the crowd. His hair was pulled into a bun on the top of his head. He wore practically full camping gear and looked like he was about to go into war. He gulps as he makes his way towards me. I start towards the bus and enter, not waiting for him. I catch a seat in the middle and place my stuff on the ranks over me. I slide into the window seat just as Harry makes his way over to me. He mutters a small 'hello' as he takes the seat next to me.

"So, did you bring a tent," He asks. I look out the window, trying my best to ignore him. I find myself blushing, however, when our arms brush. 

"Louis, you can't just ignore me this whole time. It's not like I asked to be your partner or anything. It's my fault that our names are close together. If it makes you feel better I hate this just as much as you do," He grumbles. I try my best not to look at him and confess everything I felt, so instead I focus on the bald spot on Mr. Cowell's head. 

"I brought a tent. You can let Zayn borrow yours if you want," He says. I turn around in my seat as Mr. Cowell boards the bus and takes his spot in the front. The lucky little shit was going to have a tent all to himself. 

The ride there was mostly Harry trying to make conversation. I didn't understand him at all. One second he was begging for me to keep my distance. Now, he has the perfect opportunity to just shut the hell up and he doesn't. Why does he keep changing his mind?

I didn't want to come to terms with my feelings towards him, but damn, with his fingers brushing mine every second it made it hard not to grab his hand and hold it. I sigh and push my hand towards his, trying to be sly about it. I can feel his eyes burning wholes into my head, but I don't do anything. After a moment of him not moving I take it as a sign and move closer. I push my hand until it was nearly on top of his. He coughs awkwardly, probably trying to hint for me to move my hand, but I didn't intend on it. 

I keep looking at out the window as I slowly move my fingers in between his. I moved them until our hands were intertwined together. I turn my head to look at him, almost daring him to pull his away, but he only gives me a small smile and tucks a stray piece of hair behind his ear. 

We sat like that the rest of the way there. 


	11. Chapter 11

"We're here! So, you and your partner can go and pick out a spot that you want and you can start pitching your tents!" Mr. Cowell instructs as we come up on a wide open field surrounded by trees. There were a few picnic tables here and there. It had taken a good 5 minutes to hick over here, thankfully I was used to walking, unlike some of the other staff members who only walked to the vending machine and back. 

"So, we'll use my tent," Harry asks. We had walked together in silence the whole time. I couldn't help but notice how much Harry had brought. It was like full on camping gear. I wouldn't be surprised if he had all sorts of useful gadgets hidden somewhere in that huge bag of his. 

"Sure, mine is kind of old. It's been a while since I've properly camped," I admit, as I set my stuff on the ground. Harry pulls out the bag that held his tent. 

We were the first ones done. It was almost like we had rehearsed putting the tent together, like we had a silent agreement of who would do which parts and we just did it. A perfect team. It wasn't like our tent was small either, it was actually pretty big, it had enough space to hold both sleeping bags, all of our stuff, and even have enough room to walk around. 

It was close to nine at night when everyone had finished pitching their tents. We left the school close to seven and it was a two-hour drive to the campsite. 

"You guys can go ahead and have some down time. It's a little to late to be wondering around and it's going to be an early morning tomorrow. I suggest getting to know your partner a little more maybe," Mr. Cowell suggests as he heads into his own tent. Harry and I both shrug as we head into our tent. I take a seat on my sleeping bag and Harry on his. 

"Harry, can I ask you a personal question," I ask. Harry gives a short nod and I continue. Trying to piece together my thoughts before I start speaking. 

"You said that we were good friends in high school. How close were we? I mean, I just hate not knowing about my own life and I feel that I can ask you these things for some reason," I blabber. Harry silences me and thinks for a moment before responding. 

"We were so close that I knew everything about you, from your favorite color to your pants size. We were so close that I called your mother my mother and that I would stay at your house for weeks on end. I knew everything about you and you knew everything about me. Zayn, you, and I...we were the dream team. A strange mix, to say the least, but a team at that," He explains. I wish I could remember it, but I just couldn't. I wanted to remember all those things, the times that we spent together, but my thoughts were a hazy mix of dream and reality. 

"We can play 20 questions. I know it sounds childish. But I want to know more about you, so maybe we can be as close as we used to be. To make things interesting, how about I ask you a question and you answer for you and for me to see if you still remember everything. If you get all of them right, you'll get a special prize," I explain. Harry nods. 

"In high school what was your dream job," I ask, Harry smiles at me, not thinking at all before answering. 

"Mine was a math teacher and you wanted to be a famous soccer player." I give him a small nod, telling him that he was right. 

So it went one. It came to the last question and Harry had gotten all of the questions right. He wasn't lying when we said that we were close. 

"Last question: do you like me more than a super-awesome best friend," I question, trying to keep the mood light while asking a question that was far from it. Harry gulps, looking down at his long, lanky fingers. 

"I do, I don't know about you. Maybe in high school I would've said yes, but times and thoughts have changed since then," He sighs. I don't want him to give up. He knew everything about me and he should at least be able to figure this last one out. I mean he knew my mother's maiden name for god's sake. 

"What do you do when your student's don't know an answer?" 

"I tell them to pick the answer that makes the most sense." 

"Sometimes, Harry, you need to take your own advice. Think about everything that has happened over the last couple weeks and piece together an answer that makes the most sense," I explain.

"I think, maybe you do," He sighs. I smile, knowing that he had gotten the right answer. He looks up at me, and smiles. "Was I right?" 

I scout closer to him, so close that our lips were nearly touching. "Yeah, you did, congratulations, you know me better than I do," I whisper as I press my lips to his. 

Like before, my hands knew how to work his body like they had been here before. Almost as if this were a familiar lay out to them. His hands go to my hair and pull me in harder as my hands seem to fit in his hips. We kiss for god knows how long before I pull away, out of breath. 

"What was that supposed to mean," Harry huffs, his eyes drifting from my eyes to my lips. I move my hands to the back of his neck and hold him still. 

"Me asking you to my boyfriend. What did it mean to you," I ask. 

"Me saying yes," He answers as he molds our lips together again.  


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning Mr. Cowell told us that we were going on a hike. I was excited for the hick because that meant I could talk to Harry and claim I was just getting to know my co-worker. 

"Let's go ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Cowell proclaims. He claps his hands to try and get everyone's attention. Harry and I were already ready to go. He was clad in a button-down brown shirt, the shirt was made of a thin material made for being outside, with dark green cargo pants. His hair was tied back in a pony tail, showing of his beautiful face. 

"Ready," Harry asks. I give a small nod as I mentally go over what I had with me to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. We trail behind the group a little bit and when we know nobody can see us, I slip my hand into his. 

"It feels like we already know each other. I know you mentioned us being friends, but when we kiss and stuff I just know what I'm supposed to do. It's almost like we have some soulmate voodoo going on," I say as I swing our hands. Harry let's out a little laugh, before shaking his head. 

"Not exactly as romantic as that. Louis, I think I should just tell you this now, so that in the future I don't have to worry about telling you this and you feeling betrayed. If I tell you know you can leave with a lot less... strings attached," Harry starts. 

"Yeah, go ahead. What's up?" 

"You know how I said we were really close in high school? We didn't just act like friends and we actually held hands and acted like this a lot," He says. "And we happened to kiss a lot, and um...both of us...liked it." I raise an eyebrow in confusion. 

"So we had a crush on each other? I thought I was dating Stan. Why would I kiss you a lot if I had a boyfriend at the time?" I knew that was something out of character, I hated cheating with a passion, so I doubted I would do something like that no matter how much I liked the person. 

"You didn't date...Stan. You dated me," He sighs. My heart drops. It was as if someone had taken a hammer and slammed it into me. The breath was knocked out me as the words take hold. Confusion settles inside of me as I try to find a logical explanation for everything. 

"What? Everyone told me I dated Stanley Lucas in the 12th grade, why should I trust your judgement over theirs," I ask, becoming aggravating. I trusted them to tell me the truth. They said that I dated Stan and I didn't? None of that makes any sense at all. I take my hand from Harry's, no longer wanting to be near him. I wanted to leave and never come back. 

"Before you get upset. Let me explain," He starts, "You see, in August we met. I was new and our lockers were right next to each other. We started hanging out more and more and at the end of November I asked you out and you said yes. Fast forward to the day of the accident. I couldn't make it to your game that day because I had a dentist appointment. When I heard I went to the hospital, but it was too late. Stan had already showed up and told you that you guys were dating. Your mother told me that you were fragile and telling you that Stan lied would only confuse you more," Harry explains, all in one breath. 

"Why didn't anyone tell me later? When I wasn't fragile? I ended up going back into an abusive relationship and you guys just sat down and watch? Why didn't they tell me then," I shout. Some of the worst things that have ever happened to me happened right after senior year. If they had told me when I was strong enough that maybe none of that would've happened. 

"Louis, I loved you, I still do. At the time your mom thought it would be best to keep you in a safe environment and having me around wasn't going to make things safe for you. I loved you and at the time I didn't know how to control that. I tried to be with you as a friend while you were in recovery, but the whole time I wanted to kiss you and hold your hand and tell you that I loved you. Your mom and my mom both agreed that my love wasn't safe for you anymore. If I couldn't control it then it needed to go.

"I went to a therapist for a year. Most people think it was silly, but I was erased from your live because my love for you was so strong. I had to learn, with the help of a professional, how to control that and over time I got over it. It took six years or so to finally get over you, Louis. That also happened to be the year I started teaching.

"I took a risk coming back to this town after leaving for college, but I wanted to be close to my mom, and this was the only way. My school was closing and everyone was offered jobs at your school, but I knew you worked there. I knew that if I came back here all those feelings I had repressed would come back and they did. On the first day I went home to my mother crying after I saw you, you and that stupid smile. 

"Louis, please don't leave me again. I've fallen back in love with you and I don't think I can change things this time. Being with you, even as friends was hard enough." 

I suck in a long, deep breath. This was a lot to process. I didn't even know that I knew Harry until a couple days ago. If someone had shown me a picture of Harry I would tell you he was stranger, but here he was declaring his love for me. He told me that he  _loved_ me and that it took six years to get over me. How was I supposed to believe any of this? Everything I was told was a lie. What was the truth?

"Is there proof of this," I ask, sighing. 

"I have tons of photos and memories and notebooks in my old room. I mean, we can go check it out after the camp out ends," Harry suggests. 

I finally feel like I'm getting a step ahead of this. If Harry had solid proof of our relationship in High School then I would be relieved. That would mean there would be no more secrets about that year and just the idea made me happy. 

"Yes, I would love that."


	13. Chapter 13

"Ready?" Harry asks, our fingers twisted together. We sat in his car outside his mother's home, trying to find the courage to enter the house. I was still terrified. I knew I wanted to see things from my past and learn about it. However, it would be slightly terrifying seeing myself doing things while I had no knowledge of it. 

I should be mad at Harry for keeping everything from me for so long, but with the same logic I would have to be mad at Zayn. I couldn't be mad at Zayn, even if I wanted to. He would always find a way to crack my angry exterior and make me smile. So, I gave up on being mad at Harry and instead applauded him for telling me the truth, knowing it wouldn't be easy. 

"No, but I won't be any more ready in ten more minutes either," I sigh. Harry lets out a breathy chuckle before turning to me and placing a quick kiss on my lips. 

"You'll do great. If you're as brave as you were in high school, then you have nothing to worry about," Harry reassures me. I nod, trying to get myself to believe that this was easy. It should be easy compared to some of the other things I've done in my life. 

"Let's hope I haven't changed much then," I mutter. Harry takes back his hand so he can leave the car and I follow hesitatingly. We make our way to the door slowly. Harry brings his hand up to the door and knocks. 

The door opens before Harry can knock twice. A woman, about the same age as my mother, stands in the doorway. Her hair was about the same color as Harry's, except it was straight and fell past her shoulders. She wore a pair of jeans and a graphic t-shirt. The most striking thing about the woman was the way her eyes' sparkled.  

"Harry?" The woman asks. Harry gestures to me and I take a step closer so she could get a look at me. She raises a hand to her mouth as her jaw drops. She looks at Harry in shock and than back at me. 

"I'm Louis-"

"Tomlinson, I know. Come in," She says. She looked shocked as she moved to let us in. Harry guides me to the living room and gestures for me to sit. I shrug him off and decide to stand next to him. I wrap both of my hands around one of his nervously. He gives them a small squeeze as he talks to his mother. 

"Mom, this is Louis Tomlinson. He knows about everything that happened and that's why we're here," Harry explains.

"Oh, Louis. I'm so sorry for what happened to you. If it makes you feel any better, I was totally against pushing Harry out of your life. I knew what it would do to the both of you. I can't express how happy I am that you two are finally together again. Hopefully, for good this time," His mother says. Harry gives his mother a small smile. He gives me a quick glance and smiles at me. 

"Well, if you need us we'll be in my room." 

Harry moves me towards his room. When he opens the door I'm hit with a sense of familiarity. The walls were the same dark green like the walls from my dream. I noticed a familiar picture of a deer on one of the walls. Three boxes sat on the floor near Harry's closet. My heart leaps as I read my name in Harry's handwriting. I find myself leaning towards the box, but Harry moves towards the desk.

"What is that," I ask. I gesture towards the box on the shelf. Harry stops what he's doing and goes over and pulls it down from it's perch on the shelf. He blows the layer of dust off the top before opening the box to reveal hundreds of photos of me. 

"What is all of this?" I question as I pick up one of the photos. You could see me on the soccer field, my hands on my hips as I waited for a pass. I flipped it over and on the back was scribbled. 

_3/8/_ _10_ _Lou looking hella good._

I show it to him and he blushes. 

"The thing is, I wanted to make you a photo album at the end of the year, but you had your accident so I couldn't. I wrote little notes on the back so you could read them when you got the book," Harry explains. "Feel free to look through any of them."

I put the photo in the box and than pull out another. It was me, smiling, very awkwardly may I add, at the camera. The wind was blowing so my hair was messy and flying around in all sorts of directions. I was wearing the shirt that the person from my dream bought me. But, my smile was huge, and I guess that meant that no matter how ugly I looked, I was happy. 

I turned it over, wanting to see what he wanted to say about it. 

 _5/4/10 Louis is my new model. He looks beautiful. He doesn't like when I take his photo sometimes, but I still think that he's the prettiest person in the world. I don't think Louis likes being called pretty and beautiful either, because it's not 'masculine' enough for him, but he's my little butterfly. I mean he's so small and I love him so much. I just can't call him hot or sexy or handsome, because it just doesn't...fit. Louis, if you read this I just want to tell you that I love you so much and that you are my whole world and that you are the reason that I am my happiest. I will continue to keep taking photos of you and I hope that at some point you will be more comfortable showing off your beautiful, pretty, amazing looking face. I love you to the moon and_ back.

I turn around and see Harry, who was reading over my shoulder. He purses his lips and pulls me towards him.

"I love you, you know that. I know this is weird for you, but I do love you. Take all the time you need to, to adjust. I'll be here when you're ready," Harry whispers.

"Thank you."


	14. Chapter 14

It took a few weeks before I was completely comfortable being with Harry romantically again. We had dated for the continuation of the school year and it was coming on summer now. We had a few ups and downs throughout the last couple of months, but we had managed to keep out relationship strong and thriving. 

The camp out we had went on was in early October and it was now the end of May. We had been together nearly eight months now and I couldn't be happier. Everyday before school Harry would come in and we could hang out until the bell rang. 

"Move in with me," Harry blurts. 

We were both sitting on the floor, since there was no way we could both fit on my one rolling chair. My head was leaning on Harry's shoulder and we hadn't said anything until Harry had spoke. 

"What?" 

"Move in with me. I've been thinking about it a lot and I want to see you more than just at work. I want to see you all the time. I want you to be the first and last thing I see everyday. I'm not pressuring you or anything, I'm just suggesting," Harry sighs. 

I don't say anything. I was conflicted. The idea was tempting. We had been together for a while now and we were adults. The next step in our relationship would be moving in together or getting engaged and I  _know_  I wasn't ready to get married. However, I loved living with Zayn and I liked having my own space. 

"Give me some time to think about it and talk to Zayn," I answer. Harry pulls himself away from me and smiles. 

"We have all the time in the world," Harry replies. He leans down and presses a kiss to my' mouth. Even after eight months I loved kissing Harry. I still got butterflies every time our lips connected. I smile into the kiss before pulling away.

"Bell's about to ring. You better get to class before you're late, Haz," I whisper. Harry sighs loudly and stands. 

"You gonna get give me a late pass Coach," Harry asks innocently. I laugh loudly and roll my eyes. Harry kisses me quickly one last time before he leaves for class.

~_~_~

"Zayn?" I start. It was the afternoon and we were sitting eating dinner together. He looks up from his meal, his eyes looking a little darker brown than normal and there seemed to be a small red ring around his iris. 

"Yeah?" He asks, his tone nearly dead. Was now the best time to bring this up?

"I think I wanna move out," I say quietly. Zayn's eyes widen and his fork falls from his grasp. He stops and looks at me for a moment, as if he were still trying to process what I was saying. 

"Why? With who? When? What happened to me and you against the world," He asks, his questions flying at me from all directions. I place a hand in front of me, trying to tell him to remain calm. 

"Someone offered to me to move in with them and I think I might take it. I mean, I know this place is already paid off since it belonged to your mom and I don't know I think I just want to mix things up," I explain. 

"Who would you be living with," He asks. His voice is deathly quiet and I knew, I just  _knew,_  he would get pissed. 

"Harry," I sigh. Zayn slams his fists on the table and stands, throwing his fork in the sink and crumbling the paper plate in one hand. 

"I knew that god damn son of a bitch was going to try to pull this shit again," He shouts.

"What are you talking about," I ask. I don't move, knowing all to well not to get in between Zayn when he was upset. 

"He pulled this shit when you were dating in high school. It was the main reason I didn't tell you about him after the accident," He exclaims. My mouth drops. He kept it from me, purposefully? 

"Wait, you kept it from me on purpose," I mutter. I hear my voice drop as the tone of the conversation changes. He turns to face me. His eyes were huge and much more red than before, he looked down right terrified. 

"He...took you from me. Whenever I wanted to hang out with you, you would always say no and when you did want to hang out you either ignored me or talked about the bastard! You have to at least understand where I was coming from, Louis," Zayn protests. I cross my arms over my chest angrily. I felt tears threatening my eyes as I stand, not nearly as tall as Zayn. 

"What happened to telling each other everything? What happened to being best friends," I snap. Zayn lifts his shoulders and presses his lips tight together. 

"I don't know, Louis, what did happen to being best friends?" Zayn stomped out of the room after that. Leaving me sad and confused in the kitchen.

~_~_~

Later that night I went into the kitchen to get a snack. Looking out onto the patio I saw Zayn, with a cig in his hand. 

You see, Zayn was a heavy smoker in high school, but as soon as he got into college with me he had started getting off of it. It was a hard thing for him to do, going from a pack a day to maybe a pack a month. Now, he hardly ever smoked. In fact, that's how I knew things were really bad. Zayn only ever smoked now when things were so bad he didn't know where to turn to. 

Zayn liked being around things that were familiar, when he got upset or confused he would always turn to something familiar. Usually that would be me, but when we fought it was his cigs. Normally, nothing I could say would push him into smoking, so I was confused at his actions.

"Hey, what's wrong," I ask as I take a seat next to him outside. He lets out a long drag of his cig. He breaths in once before answering. He lets his head fall onto the chair and he doesn't answer for a while.

"Liam broke up with me this afternoon," He explains. I was shocked. Zayn and Liam were nearly connected at the hip. I hadn't known they were dating until this year, but Zayn had told me that they had been together before this year, towards the end of last school year. So, for Liam to break up with him was a pretty big thing. 

"What, why," I ask. Zayn takes in another breath before responding. 

"He said that there was a lot of heat on us and that he was scared I would get sent to jail. He's nearly graduated anyway, so I don't know what the problem is. He turns 18 in August which isn't that far away considering everything. I know he was just looking for a reason to break up with me." 

"How do you know that?" 

"Caught him and Niall Horan making out in the restroom across from my room," Zayn sighs. "Too bad for them, I gave them both detention for PDA," Zayn says. It took me a while to piece together the fact that Zayn never one for the PDA rule, he actually hated the rule and would never give someone detention for it, even if he didn't like the kid. 

It was than that I realized that something was really wrong with Zayn. 


	15. Chapter 15

** ***TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER! I HAVE MARKED OFF THE SECTION CONTAINING SENSITIVE DETAILS! PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE*** **

  It took me a couple of days to get on board with the moving idea and it took Zayn a few more to even consider it. After Zayn and I had discussed everything and the three of us talked about it we had decided that I would, in fact, be moving in with Harry. It took a little time convincing Zayn that this wasn't me abandoning him, but I didn't mind waiting for Zayn to get on board. He was my best friend and I wanted him to be completely comfortable with this. 

I was glad the house already belonged to Zayn's family and was technically under his mother's name so I didn't have to put Zayn through any more stress than he already was under. The only thing I had to do was pack and leave. 

I did notice that over the week it took for me to pack up, Zayn had started smoking more and the bags under his eyes got bigger. I felt a shred of guilt eat away at me as the week went on, but it was never enough for me to unpack everything and to stay. He had reassured me multiple times that he was fine and okay with everything. I figured Zayn would have to get used to living alone anyway because we couldn't be roommates forever.

The last Saturday was hard. Zayn had insisted on us playing video games and eating unhealthy food the night before, as a finally 'guys night'. The day of Zayn hadn't even left his room. Harry had come over and helped me load all of my boxes into his car to take over to his house. I started getting excited as Harry finished getting the last box in his car. 

"Is that everything," Harry asks. He looks at me and smiles widely. We were both excited to be living together. I turn towards the house to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything only to see Zayn. He was sitting on the front patio with a cigarette in between his fingers. 

"Yeah, I think so, but uh... let me go check," I mutter, as I walk towards Zayn. He doesn't stop smoking when I approach him. He continues the cycle of bringing the cigarette to his lips, breathing it in, and breathing it out.

"Hey, are you going to be alright," I question. He shrugs, not stopping to talk to me. As he takes one particular long drag I notice the inside of his arms and the angry red marks on them. Had he been hurting himself? Was it good to go through with this if it meant that Zayn was hurting himself? Were those even scars or just something all in my head?

"Just, hang in there. This isn't the end of the world, alright? I'm just going to be around the corner and a phone call away. We'll see each other everyday at work, too" I remind him. He doesn't answer me or even spare me a glance. I sigh and head back to Harry's car. 

I climb into the car after Harry. He starts to speak, but I'm too focused on Zayn in the back wind shield. I watch him as he stands and squashes the smoke under his foot before returning back inside. 

~_~_~

Going back to school on Monday was pretty exciting. Harry and I had spent all weekend coming up with plans on how to live together easier. We had gotten chores assigned and figured out how we were going to split the monthly costs. It sounded absolutely boring, but it was exciting to us because it cemented the idea of us becoming roommates and taking our relationship to the next level.  

I was also nervous to see Zayn, though. I had been worried about him over the last couple of days. I had expected Zayn to be a little upset, but I hadn't imagined it would go this far. He could barely look at me, let alone speak. 

I head to the art room the following Monday morning, deciding on catching up with Zayn. I wanted to let him know that I still cared about him. As I approach his room I stop as I hear the  sound of clicking heels. What were heels doing in Zayn's art room?

I walk into the art room and stop as I see a woman's back, "Hello?" She turns and I notice her tanned skin and long brown hair. She wore a nice dress and looked professional enough, but that didn't explain why she was here. 

"Hi, I'm Miss. Nelson and I'm subbing for Mr. Malik," She says. She sticks out a hand for me to shake and I take it hestitantly. Why wasn't Zayn at work? Zayn never missed work. He would rather come to school sick then miss a day. 

The next two days went the same way. When Thursday rolled around, I knew something was up. I decide on leaving a little earlier Thursday afternoon so I could run over quickly to make sure everything was okay.

I borrow the car and drive to my old house. When I approach the house I don't notice anything off at first. I head to the door and bring a hand up to it and knock. After a minute of no answer I grab the spare key that was hidden in the flower pot, thankful that Zayn hadn't changed the hiding spot. 

** ***FINALLY TRIGGER WARNING! PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO SELF HARM OR SUICIDAL THOUGHTS/ACTIONS*** **

The first thing I noticed when I entered the living room was the smell. My favorite scent, Hawaiian Breeze, was strong as I walked through the living room. The living room was messy and looked like a tornado had blown through it. 

After the living room I went to the bathroom. I suck in a deep breath as I find emptied pencil sharpeners lying across the bathroom counter. My heart drops as look into the sink and find blood stains. What was going on?

My heart races as I run to my bedroom. Thoughts filled me as I prepared myself for what I might see. I push the door open forcefully and let out a sob as I see Zayn laying on the floor.

He was in the middle of the room seemingly passed out. I run to him and bring a hand to his cheek. I notice the tear stains and his glazed over eyes. I glance around him and notice an empty bottle of pills laying near him. 

I pull out my phone and call 911. The operator has me describe what as happening and I find myself choking up. I run a hand through Zayn's hair as the lady on the phone promises me help is on the way. I cry loudly as she runs through the steps on how to move Zayn into the recovery position. The reality of it all was finally settling in. What if I lost him?

After I do so I set the phone down and find myself cursing at him under my breath, "Zayn you idiot. God why did you do this to yourself? You could've come to me and I would've helped you! Just because I'm not living with you doesn't mean you're not my best friend. I love you too much to leave me, you bastard," I cry. 

I sit like that a little while longer, waiting on the ambulance to show up. It seems like years before the ambulance finally arrives to take Zayn to the hospital. I sob as I watch them push his unconscious body into the vehicle and shut the doors. 

I walk back into the house to pick up my phone and car keys that have been forgotten in my old bedroom. While I do so, I find a crumbled up piece of pair that I hadn't noticed before. I pick it up hesitatingly. 

_Louis,_

_I figured you would be the first one to find me. I wanted to promise you that none of this is your fault. Recently, I've been under a lot of stress and it felt like I was lost and had nobody to go to. First, I lost Liam and that hurts SO much. It's hard to go into work and see him acting as if nothing happened, because I love him. I, so stupidly, fell in love with him._

_Then, you told me you wanted to move. I know that you had promised it didn't mean the end of our friendship, but it felt like it. My mind keeps telling me that you hate me and that Harry's better than me. I'm so sorry about that. I shouldn't have been such a dick over it all._

_If there's any miracle that I live through this please, no matter how much I may resist, please get me treatment or therapy. If I live then I'll hate myself. I'll hate myself even more and I'll probably do this again._

_If I die I want you to know it's not your fault. I know you'll blame this on yourself, Louis. This is on me. I wanted to leave and that's my fault. Never blame this on yourself and please don't let this hold you back from anything. Go and live your life and be happy. That's all I ever wanted you to be, but I've been getting in the way of that myself, huh?_

_I have so many things I could apologize for Louis, but my biggest regret it keeping Harry from you. If I could go back and change that I would. He makes you so happy and everyone around you can tell. I hope he makes you that happiest man alive._

_My deepest apologizes,_

_Zayn_


	16. Chapter 16

Everyone was anxious. Nobody knew what was going to happen or what would happen to Zayn. I called Harry immediately and he joined me at the hospital. I was proud of myself for not sobbing yet, even though I wanted to.

I glance at the clock and notice it was nearing six. We had been at the hospital for about two hours with no word on how Zayn was doing. My stomach dropped every time the doors would open and a doctor would step out.

"He'll be fine, he's a tough cookie," Harry whispers. I wrapped my hands tighter around his arm. I was clutching him, wanting to keep him close to me. I was so scared that he would be ripped from me too.

I watch the door open again and a nice-enough looking doctor exits. "Zayn Malik," She shouts. I untangle myself from Harry and stand up, praying that the news was good. She smiles at me before making her way over towards us.

"Is he okay? Please tell me that he's okay," I ask. Harry stands beside me and holds my hand tightly. The moment before she answers felt like hours, even though it was only a few seconds.

"He was pretty bad off when we got to him and we're glad that you called when you did. It could've been a lot worse if you had waited any longer. We pumped his stomach and we're keeping him stable for now, but we think... he'll be okay, physically, that is. We need to ask him a few questions about his mental health and he may need to be placed in a mental hospital if it's deemed fit, but Mr. Malik will recover from this," She explains.

I let out a shaky breath that I had been holding. It was like a giant weight was being lifted off my shoulders. Zayn wasn't dying tonight. The words were sweet as I repeated them in my head. The idea of lowering Zayn's body into the ground vanished. I look up at Harry and smile at him. Harry smiles back sweetly and presses a kiss to my temple.

"Thank you, thank you so much," I murmur.

~_~_~

The next week was hectic. Zayn had been in a mental care facility for a few days after the overdose. He was in for a total of three days and he wasn't much better when he got out. I had managed to get into contact with Zayn's mom who still lived in town. Thankfully, she offered to take care of him and let him live with her until he was back on his feet again.

Zayn had decided not to come back for the rest of the school year. There was only a few weeks left. I had managed to talk with Miss. Nelson, who preferred Jesy, and she was tolerable. She even came and ate lunch with Harry and I in Harry's room from time-to-time.

The rumors around school were intense and I wanted to lock myself in my office most of the time. Somehow, some students got wind that a teacher attempted suicide and went rolling with it. It didn't take long for the news to fly through the school and for students to connect it back to Zayn.

It was Thursday, marking a week after the accident, and I was in my office. I sigh as I notice the clock on the far wall telling me that school was going to start soon. Harry had a shit ton of work to catch up on and decided not to join me this morning. It made the morning a little more boring, but I was managing to keep myself occupied.

I hear a knock on the door. I stand and make my way to the door and open it, to reveal Liam. Liam, who was Zayn's ex-boyfriend and didn't even ask if he was okay. The same boy that broke up with Zayn when things got hard. I had developed a small loathing towards the boy over the course of a week.

"Can we talk?" I glance over the boy's face. He didn't look any different than he had before. I move to the side and let him in, leaving the door open.

"The door is staying open," I huff.

"It's about Zayn... uh Mr. Malik. I was just um... wondering how everything was going. I would've come earlier, but I didn't know if it was true or not! I tried texting him, but he never responded and I didn't know what to do. I was too scared to come to you and ask because I figured you hated me. So, I went to Ha--Mr. Styles and uh... he told me to come to you and that he couldn't say anything. Then I figured that the rumors must be true and realized how terrible I am. I never wanted to hurt him," Liam says. I fold my arms across my chest.

"You stepped out of line by asking Mr. Styles to do that, do you understand? You're a student, Payne, so you can't go around acting like the teachers are your friends. It is unprofessional for you to come to my office and ask me about my personal life. You and Mr. Malik are no longer together romantically and you had better start acting like it," I snap.

I had to start treating him like my other athletes. I know if any of my other athletes asked about this I would be angry. I look up at the boy and see his eyes starting to fill with tears. He coughs and sniffles, trying to cover it up I was guessing.

"Yea--yes Coach. I'm very sorry. I just--I wanted to apologize to him. I shouldn't have broken up with him like I did. I was--I was scared. People were starting to ask me if I was dating a teacher jokingly, but it scared me. I don't even know what I'm doing here. I'll just--I should go. I'll see you at practice, Coach." He turns to leave, but stops. "Oh, and for the record. I didn't kiss Niall. Niall kissed me and I pushed him off."


	17. Chapter 17

The week completed drained me. My schedule was busy and I was focused majorly on Zayn and work. I felt as if I was pushing Harry away, which was something I never wanted to do. Harry and I both cleared our weekend schedules so we could hang out together.

"Love, can you go and grab the box in the kitchen," Harry asks. We were cuddling together on our couch. I enjoyed laying with Harry and not feeling obligated to hold a conversation. I unwrap my arms from around Harry's waist and walk towards the kitchen. I find the black box instantly.

I hestitantly pick it up and twirl it in my fingers. What was this? I move into the living room. I stop as I see Harry was sitting up and was wearing his signature smirk. I glance at the box and back up at Harry.

"Open the box," He instructs. I open it and see a simple silver band. My mind starts running as I try to find some logical explanation for this. Harry pats the spot next to him on the couch, gesturing for me to sit next to him. I hurry and sit down, wanting an explanation.

"Harry, what is this," I ask tentatively. Harry takes the box from me and pulls the ring out.

"It's a promise ring. I know neither of us are ready to get married and, honestly, I don't even want to think about that. Well I do! I want to marry you, but not right now. God, I'm messing this up already," Harry sighs. I try not to smile at his desperate attempt to keep this serious.

"What's a promise ring?" Harry looks at me and tries to hold back a laugh. Why was he laughing at me? I huff and fold my arms across my chest. I was asking a genuine question and he was laughing at me!

"Gorgeous," Harry protests. I see him out of the corner of my eye as he tries to move forward and touch me, but I pull away. I sneak a glance at him, but look away quickly when our eyes meet. "Don't get pouty," He teases. His arms wrap around me suddenly. I try to wiggle away, but it was hopeless.

"You laughed at me! I was asking you a question because I was confused and you laughed," I huff. Harry presses a kiss below my ear. I turn my head towards him and he captures my lips in a quick kiss. I push back the smile that always appeared after we kissed. He knew me too well.

He pulls away, but keeps our hands interlocked. "I was laughing because you asked the same question when I gave you a promise ring in high school," He tells me. Of course it was about high school.

I never wanted to get mad at Harry for remembering small things like that, but it annoyed me. Harry knew me almost better than I knew me. Sure, I gained a lot of knowledge about him since we've been together, but it isn't the same. I missed out on a year of our relationship.

I push the sadness that was creeping up on me away and focus back on the conversation. "You gave me a promise ring in high school?" Harry nods and lifts one of my hands. He points out the silver band I had found in the box of origami from my mother's house.

"I gave you this ring in high school and you never took it off. I was surprised when I saw you wearing it in the beginning of the school year. I was looking at it earlier this week and figured you could use a replacement," Harry explains. I glance at the ring. I thought it was an anniversary present.

"You still haven't answered my question. What's a promise ring?"

"It's a ring you give to someone that you're committed to. It's like a stand-in wedding ring." I nod and feel butterflies in my stomach as I imagine what it must've felt like to get a ring like this in high school. It feels weird to think about me wanting to marry someone back then, but it isn't hard to believe when I imagine how much I love the man now.

"What did I say back then," I ask. I try to imagine the situation in my head. I do that a lot when I'm around him. I try to picture us in high school and being in a relationship like this. Harry was always patient with me and helped paint the picture in my head for me.

_"You want to marry me," Past-Louis yelps. I can imagine what I wore back then. I imagine a baby-Harry in front of me. Harry had always been cuter than me, even in high school._

_"Not now, silly, but maybe. Is it weird to think about that? We haven't been dating long, only three months, but I like imagining a life with you sometimes," Harry admits. I can see myself reaching forwards and kissing him. Harry had always been the more romantic one. "But, do you want it? You don't have to if you don't want to."_

_"Yes, of course I want your promise ring." I can hear my voice in my head and why Harry didn't run for the hills. Why did anyone like me back them? I shake the thought when I see Harry slipping the ring on my finger._

"Do you see it," Harry asks. I open my eyes and nod. I take off the old ring and set it behind me. "So, what do you say? Do you want to promise yourself to me?"

"Of course," I reply. Harry blushes and takes the new ring and slips it on my finger. It felt different, but in a good way. I lean in and kiss Harry's cheek. He blushes again.

"Stop, you're making me blush," He complains, pushing me away teasingly.

"You know you love it," I reply. He rolls his eyes and moves closer towards me.

"Cuddle me." I don't argue as Harry leans into my chest. I lay us down and wrap my arms around him. For the first time, in a long time, I felt content. 


	18. Chapter 18

It was nearing the last week of school and Zayn was starting to get better. I was a lot less stressed now, because summer was right around the corner.

I hear a knock on my door and groan. I stand and open it, shocked as I see Zayn. He wasn't allowed to leave the house very often, so I'm surprised to see him here. He looked a lot better than he had been before. The dark circles under his eyes were starting to fade away and he didn't smell so strongly of smoke. I was proud of Zayn for how far he had come.

"Hey! Harry said you were down here. I never thought you  _actually_  worked," He jokes. I roll my eyes and playfully shove him. It was nice to be so light-hearted.

"Ha ha, very funny, I do actually work thank you very much. So, how are you feeling, good? You look great," I compliment. Zayn looks himself over and shrugs. He wasn't acting like it, but I knew he was proud of himself. His eyes were shinning and he looked happy.

"Good, I actually feel good lately. It's nice to be back. I visited my classroom and it looks the same. It's strange being in there and not having to worry about getting grades in," Zayn explains. I can tell there's something else he wants to say, but wasn't. I had a feeling it was about Liam. They hung out in Zayn's classroom for the most part, so it must be hard for Zayn having to go in there and see everything.

"Have you talked to Liam at all. He came to me a while back and said that he was sorry. I wasn't sure if you two were talking or not," I say hesitantly. I wasn't sure how the two stood. Zayn sighs and scratches the back of his head.

"We just talked actually. It was lowkey because the cameras and everything, but he apologized. We're giving each other some space now. I think that we're going to hold off for anything until the school year ends. He'll feel a lot better about it then and I don't want to force him into anything he's not comfortable with. We're not having sex and I won't be his teacher so I can't lose my job. It's easier this way. We'll hang out on the DL until he turns 18," Zayn explains. I feel a lot better knowing that the two got their shit sorted out.

"That's good. Can't have you going to jail," I joke. Zayn nods and we talk a while longer about pointless things. It was nice catching up with my best friend and I didn't realize how much I had missed him.

It was nearing the end of the day when Harry came down to my office. He looked stressed and overwhelmed. He must've had a bad day. He was having more and more bad days lately, but I knew it was from stress. His team had put it upon him to design the final exam test and it was stressing him out a lot.

"Hard day," I ask. Harry gives a small nod and loosens the bun on his head. Zayn gives him a sorry look. "Nice catching up with you, Z, but we should be going, huh?" We share quick hugs and goodbyes before heading towards the car.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to break up you and Zayn's conversation," Harry apologizes. I shake my head and kiss him. He gives me a soft smile as I start the car up and start driving towards our home.

We pull up to the apartment a moment later. He goes to leave, but I grab his hand, forcing him to turn towards me. "Kiss me," I whisper. Harry smiles and leans in, connecting out lips together. He holds my head in place as our lips touch ever so gently. He sighs into me as he slowly moves back.

"I needed that, thank you," He hums. He pulls what stuff he needs out of the back seat and helps me out and into the house. I watch Harry as he flops into the couch. I set my things down and join him.

He wraps his longer arms around me and breathes deeply. "I could use a nap," He hums. He lets me go so he can lay down. I watch him pout as I stand up.

"I'm going to go order a pizza and we can camp out here tonight. We can watch some romantic movies and eat some pizza," I suggest. Harry nods and pulls a blanket over his lanky body. I roll my eyes as Harry lets out a little sigh.

"Can we watch The Notebook," He calls as I disappear into the kitchen.

"Absolutely," I shout back. I hear Harry mutter a quiet 'yay'.

I join him a moment later and lay on the couch. Harry wraps his arms around me again and pulls me tightly against him. "I love you," Harry whispers. I hum and bring one of his hands to my face. I kiss the top of his hand and mumble the words against his lips.

~_~_~

"I'm taking a half-day today, so please don't forget. I'll see you tonight for dinner though," Harry says. It was the following day and we were in my office. Harry felt a lot more relaxed today after our chilled evening the night before.

"Why are you leaving me," I pout. I sat on Harry's lap on the floor. I hated to admit how often we liked to do it, but it wasn't my fault he was comfortable.

"I have a dentist appointment, love, I'm sorry. Will you ever forgive me," Harry answers. I shake my head 'no' and he rolls his eyes, placing a kiss on my neck.

"Oh, I know a way for you to forgive me, wait till you get home. You'll be in for it," He whispers huskily. He lifts me off his lap and sets me on the floor next to him. He stands and makes sure he looks presentable before leaving.

As I prepare to go home later that day I hear an ambulance drive by. I stop and silently pray for whoever was in there and they're family. I knew how terrible it was to be in a situation like that.

Little did I know that I was, in fact, praying for myself.


	19. Chapter 19

The drive home is heavy. It feels as if something was weighing me down, but I have no clue what it is. The vision of the ambulance keeps playing over in my head and Harry's voice is with it. He's at the dentist. He's fine. He should be home by now making a wonderful dinner. Everything is fine. 

I pull into the driveway and frown as I don't see Harry's car. We normally didn't use the other vehicle, but we had to today. He was supposed to be home. He was probably late. I grab my things and open the door. I was waiting for Harry to jump from around the corner and hug me, but there was no Harry.  

I set my bag on the ground as I usually do before deciding he was probably asleep. I walk towards our room, praying that Harry was asleep under the blankets. I gasp as I see the mess surrounding our bed. Clothes were thrown onto the bed and the drawers were open. It looked like someone had gone through our stuff. My heart drops as I notice some of Harry's clothes were missing. I pull my phone out and see a ton of missed calls from Anne. 

I redial her number, but it goes to voicemail. I start to get panic and run into the kitchen, hoping to find something in there. I stop as I see a note on the table. 

_Harry's been in an accident. At Hope Medical Center. Please come asap_

_-Anne_

I drop everything and dash towards my car. It hits me, after a while, that maybe the ambulance I saw on my way home was Harry. I sob out as I pull into the parking lot. What if he was dead? What would I do? I don't think I could function without him. 

I dash into the waiting room, startling a couple of people in the lobby, but I couldn't care less. I approach the front desk, probably looking like a mad-man. 

"Harry Styles? Harry Styles, is he okay?" I ask, the lady looks at me funny before typing the name into her computer. 

"He's in recovery, room 162. Only family are allowed at the moment," She tells me.

"I'm his partner, please I need to see him." She nods me through. I quietly thank her before dashing off to the 100-200 area of the hospital. I find the room quickly and open the door.  

Inside, I see Harry. His hair was nearly gone and he had a couple cuts and bruises on his face, but other than that he looked fine. He was sitting up in his bed and talking with his mom, who sat next to him. 

"Harry? Are you okay? Oh my god, you're not dying right? He's not dying," I ask. I take a step towards him, too shocked to do anything. He furrows his eyebrows at me, clearly confused. 

"Louis?" I look to Anne, hoping for some sort of answers. She gives me a small frown. This wasn't good. No, no it had to be. He was  _fine_. I look back over to Harry and sigh deeply. 

"Yea, What happened Lov--" Anne stands up, shutting me up quick. 

"I'm going to talk to Louis outside for a moment, but we'll be back," Anne promises. She takes my arm and leads me outside. Once the door is shut she frowns deeply.

"Anne, what's happening? Does he remember anything? What's going on? I don't even know why he's here really!" The questions spill from me without thinking. She puts her hands up, signaling me to slow down. 

"It's happened again, Louis. Harry was driving home from the dentist and he got in an accident. It was his fault from what I hear, but that's besides the point. A large object, probably some part of the car, hit his head. Nobody's really sure where his memory stands," She explains. 

"No. He's not allowed to forget. It's something minor and he'll be okay, we'll be okay," I demand. I can feel the tears threatening my eyes again, but I wipe them away. I couldn't cry. 

"Look, the doctors don't think it's okay to let anyone see him for now. It's just family, alright? They want to keep things familiar and easy for him." 

"Familiar? I'm familiar! We sleep in the same bed at night! After years of not being together we still managed to find each other and our hands still have each other memorized! You may be his mother, and god I'm thankful for that, but I'm one of the most familiar things to him."

"Louis, I know you're passionate, but you can't go in there. I'm not letting you. He may not even remember you. You'll just confuse him and make things worse! After the first time you left he went through some hard things and I don't want that to resurface. You need to leave until we know where his memories stand," She explains. I wanted to hit her, slap her, punch her, anything if it meant I could see him. 

"I left him? I never left him! I never had a _fucking_  choice, Anne! Maybe if someone let me have a say in my own life he wouldn't have went through that. It wasn't my fault someone decided to kick my head in. Do you think I wanted to forget the most important person in my whole life? No, I love him so much and I refuse to give him up like this!" I lean forwards, my voice becoming soft and dangerously calm, "I'm not a teenager anymore Anne, I make my own choices now."

"Louis don't!" It's the last thing I hear before I open the door to the room and let myself in. Harry's eyes sparkle as he looks at me. My heart-rate increases and I move towards him, settling myself next to his bed. 

"Louis? Please tell me this is really you and not something my head made up," Harry begs. I grab his hands and bring them to my lips, placing a shaky kiss on them. I didn't want to look scared in front of him, but I was.

"No, I'm real, very real, and I love you okay? They made you walk out last time, but I'm not doing that. I'm sitting right here and I'm going to be there for you," I say strongly. Harry's eye light up. 

"They keep jumping around everything when I ask... I know about this school year, though. The doctors told me I have a-a... concussion? I'll remember everything... My mom is uh... is convinced that I've forgotten everything, but I-I haven't. Everything's a little... confusing right now and nothing's in order in my brain, but uh, I know that we work together and that we... live together and that we have...  _amazing_ sex." I laugh loudly. He would be okay.  

"So you remember me? You remember the promise rings and everything?" 

"You act like you're... forgettable, Tomlinson. I could never...  _ever_... forget you, okay? If my brain even  _attempted_  to tell me differently... my heart would  _riot_ ," Harry says weakly. 


	20. Epilogue

"Mr. Tomlinson and Coach Tomlinson, you're needed in the teacher's lounge. I repeat, Mr. Tomlinson and Coach Tomlinson you're needed in the teacher's lounge," The PA system calls. Louis smiles, loving the way it sounded. Him and Harry had been married for over a year now and both still weren't over it.

"Hmm, hear that Mr. Tomlinson," Louis mumbles. Louis loved teasing him about the name. Neither of them cared who took who's name. So, naturally, they had a rock-paper-scissor competition.

"Yea, can you let me go Coach Tomlinson so we can do our jobs," Harry teases. Louis rolls his eyes, but steps back.

They start towards the teacher's lounge. At that point everyone at the school knew of the two teachers. Some were naive enough to think that they were brothers or were related in some way. Both were quick to shut those rumors down when they came up.

They both stop as they get to the front door of the lounge and realize what was going on. Through the window, you could see the decorations. Louis opens the door and stops as everyone turns to them.

"Surprise," they shout. Louis looks over the crowd and laughs as he sees the room is decorated in green, pinks, and blues. He couldn't believe them. He finds Zayn among the crowd.

"Really, Z, I trusted you!" Zayn shrugs and gestures for the couple to take a seat at one of the tables. A diaper tower was played in the middle of it. Louis looks to Harry, who was even more shocked then Louis.

"Thought we weren't having a baby shower," Harry whispers. Louis points to Zayn who had started talking to some of the other teachers.

"He probably planned the whole thing," Louis explains. Both knew it would be a bad idea to tell Zayn they were going to be dad's, but Louis couldn't keep it from him. Zayn, also had a bad habit of spilling secrets, which is how this party came about.

"Move, I'm pregnant and we punch!" Louis laughs as he sees Miss. Nelson make her way into the teacher's lounge. Miss. Nelson had promised her uterus to the gay couple after they got married. Both were eager to expand their family and happily agreed.

"Nice of you to join us. You look great, Jesy," Harry compliments. He stands and brings the women into a hug. He bends down and kisses her stomach lightly. Louis pushes him away and looks at the stomach for himself.

"Hey little guy, this is your Dad. I can't wait to see you," Louis whispers. Harry roll his eyes.

"It's going to be a girl," Harry protests. Louis shrugs him off. They both knew they would be happy with whatever they get, but Harry preferred a girl and Louis preferred a boy.

"Well, me and Boogers need to eat. There is a cake, right? I'm starved," Jesy complains. She heads off somewhere to find a cake and the couple laugh. Jesy had been overly hungry lately, but neither could complain. She was feeding an extra mouth.

They chat with everyone for a bit, but after a while the music dies down and Zayn gets everyone's attention. "Hello! This isn't just a baby shower, because we're also having a sex reveal!" Harry and Louis smile. They were both excited.

They went with Jesy to nearly all her ultrasounds (only missing two) and in their place, they sent Zayn. Zayn was supposed to tell them everything that happened and come home with pictures, but they both realize that Zayn had kept the sex from them. Neither were too mad about it because they knew they would've found out eventually.

"We have a box right over here with balloons that will either be pink or blue. Both of you are going to open the box and then we'll see what you're having," Zayn explains. Louis and Harry walk towards the large box sat in the corner. They were surprised that they hadn't noticed it before.

Harry and Louis stand behind the box and look at each other. This would cement the idea of them having this child. It would become more real once they found out. They both nod and open the box.

Blue balloons come out and float towards the ceiling. Louis smiles widely and brings Harry into a hug. They were having a little boy, a son. Harry and Louis would be the fathers of the cutest little boy. Louis was overwhelmed. He didn't think this would be so emotional, but he felt like crying.

Harry pulls back and peered into the box. They frown as they see an envelope in the bottom. What else was there to find out? They already knew they were having a boy. Harry reaches down and picks it up. Everyone watches as Harry opens it.

"No, you... really?" Harry looks up at Jesy. Louis could see he was near tears. Louis grabbed for it, desperate to find out what it said. Harry runs towards Jesy and hugs her tightly. Louis takes the time to read the note over.

_Say hi to your little son... and his plus one._

Louis drops the note. He looks at Jesy who blushes. He walks over to her and brings her into a hug. He couldn't believe this. They were having twins.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," She admits. Louis lets her go and grabs Harry. Harry was crying at this point and Louis knew he was near that too. They hug, both overwhelmed.

"We have another box for the plus one," Zayn admits. Harry pulls back and wipes his eyes. He takes the box from Zayn and hands part of it Louis. They look at each other before opening it. The box didn't hold any balloons, but was instead painted bright blue.

They were having twin boys. 


End file.
